Witch Child - Machine Enslavement
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Live music is back in the RGV, and with the tightly linked metal community being reliant on the stage, it’s an exciting time to reboot our fandom. Witch Child has spent years tearing it up on the local metal circuit and is a band to anticipate at this summer’s shows, but in several ways, the intense thrash, doom, and glam headspace they usually create just didn’t translate in the studio.
The vocals are usually sung in a weaker version of James Hetfield’s snarl, with a cheesy glam-metal howl thrown in here and there. The drums have some high-points, like the booming intro to “Destroying Angel” and the fluid fills of “Wormhole/Machine Enslavement,” but overall the muffled percussion sounds like basic placeholders. The guitars come through with strong and delineated riffage, only rarely dragging with repetition and formulaic solos.
On the flip side, the band doesn’t take themselves too seriously, making some of their theatrics entertaining, whether its the martyrdom of “Bleed For You” or the mythological destruction of “Destroying Angel.” With its quietly foreboding prelude, tense main section, and convincing growls, “When Danger Calls” is one of the best metal tracks so far this year, topped off with a surprisingly passionate solo.
It seems the band is a bit preoccupied with emulating the bands and styles that inspired them, checking off boxes instead of building an immersive experience in their heavy sound. The eight-minute “Wage of Sins” has the droning repetition and downcast pace that could have made for a great doom metal track, but the meandering vocals and flat vibe break up the brooding trance, only recovering when the hypnotic solo hits deep into the song.
There’s a great foundation to Witch Child — they’re truly skilled at their instruments, demonstrates a wealth of metal knowledge, and even has the showmanship that most bands don’t have — but they also have a habit of formulaically recreating styles, resulting in songs that are too unfocused to resonate with.
Score: 5/10
Thanks for reading! Listen and purchase “Machine Enslavement” below. Follow Witch Child on Instagram and Facebook.
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